Mercer Culinary supply a lot of knives to Chef schools from their entry level Genesis range.
This is from their premium MX3 range which uses a VG10 steel and a rockwell hardness around 61.
At first I thought it was just a good priced knife, but when I looked on Amazon.com it is currently being sold for $117 usd, nearly $180 Aud so my guess is that this is a pricing error.
I have just received mine today and it is balanced just in front of the handle so great for a pinch grip, and the blade is very sharp and likely to stay that way for some time given its hardness.
The 3 layer construction is not as visually appealing as a damascus style knife, but it is still a great looking knife and feels good in the hand.
I think it competes against IO Shen knives rather than Shun, but still a nice knife at an unbeatable price for the quality.
I bought a Mercer slicing knife for $10, I don't think it's a good brand, just ok
Best bang for the buck is Victorinox